Damon Salvatore
Damon Salvatore is one of the male protagonists of The Vampire Diaries. He was the main antagonist in Season One. He is the elder brother of Stefan Salvatore. He was born in 1840 and lived in the colonial town of Mystic Falls with his brother Stefan and his father, Giuseppe Salvatore. He became a vampire in 1864. At the time of his return to Mystic Falls, Damon and Stefan hadn't seen each other in fifteen years due to their bitter, violent relationship. Damon’s sole purpose in coming back to Mystic Falls was to free Katherine Pierce, the vampire who turned him and the woman he deeply loved. After realizing that Katherine never loved him, Damon started working with Stefan and Katherine’s descendant and doppelgänger, Elena Gilbert, whom he eventually falls in love and begins a romantic relationship with. He currently lives with his girlfriend, Elena, and her brother, Jeremy Gilbert in the Salvatore Boarding House. For the majority of the first season, Damon was the main antagonist but began to change because of Elena and sometimes his brother. Because of the impact Elena has had on him, he protects her, her family, and frequently her friends. Damon has been helping Elena with her new found vampirism. His best friend is Elena Gilbert. After Alaric's death, he continues to think of him as his best friend, "brother", and drinking buddy. As the bad boy of the show, he goes by this motto: "If you're gonna be bad, be bad with a purpose. Otherwise, you're just not worth forgiving." Damon is a member of the Salvatore Family and a member of the Town Council. Early Life Damon Salvatore/Pre-History|Pre-History Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series Damon Salvatore/Season 1|Season One Damon Salvatore/Season 2|Season Two Damon Salvatore/Season 3|Season Three Damon Salvatore/Season 4|Season Four Season Five TBA Personality |-|Human= Damon was originally a very free-spirited young man, who was best friends with his younger brother Stefan Salvatore, instantly smitten with the vampire Katherine Pierce. His carefree life fell apart when Stefan betrayed Damon by alluding to their father that Katherine was a vampire; information that resulted in Katherine being trapped and taken to a church to be burned. Damon was very naive as a human, loving Katherine deeply and recklessly, regardless of the consequences and not caring that his father was shamed of him, and doing whatever he could to get her back, even if it resulted in his '''death'. As a human, Damon also held a sense of duty as he enrolled in the confederacy, however their father saw him as very irresponsible and reckless, proving he was very much a free spirit who did things on a whim, taking no mind to what people thought. Damon could be considered much the opposite to his brother in many regards. Whilst they both were respectful and polite, Damon had a dark side which came to play when he fell in love with Katherine, he willingly drank her blood and conspired with her to kill innocent humans, a trait which passed on to his vampire lifestyle. |-|Vampire= After he became a vampire, he left Stefan’s side, wanting no part in the life of the man who betrayed him. He selfishly kept the fact that Katherine was still alive from Stefan, jealous that his brother had also been turned by their shared lover. By the time he appears in season one, he’s been away from Stefan for at least eighty years (including the meeting in 1912), and he immediately begins taunting his brother, as a colder, more calloused version of his human self. Throughout season one, Damon acts arrogant and sarcastic, showing little to no regard for human life and using whatever people he can get his hands on as his personal playthings. He shows pity to neither Caroline Forbes nor Vicki Donovan, even going so far as to kill Stefan’s football coach to "prove" that he has no humanity left. He is also portrayed as a very impulsive vampire, known for his self-destructive behavior and his devious, sadistic mind. Despite this, he stays focused on his only goal: getting Katherine out of the tomb. This shows his ability for planning and forethought, and certainly the patience to wait one hundred and forty-five years for the necessary comet to return. After Katherine is discovered to have been alive the entire time, and his reason for doing the things he has been doing shattered, Damon becomes more dangerous because he drinks alcohol constantly, bonding with others at the bar. He destructively taunts Alaric Saltzman about being the one to kill his wife, Isobel Flemming, but is confused when he finds that Isobel is Elena’s birth mother. He tempts his brother with human blood, though he knows exactly what Stefan used to be, and when Stefan goes off the deep end, Damon helps Elena detox him. He also genuinely thanks Bonnie Bennett for disabling the device that could kill him, surprising her with his sincerity. Every time his brother is put in a situation that endangers his life, Damon protects him, but he’s not afraid to cause Stefan non-lethal harm. Despite his anger with Stefan for his actions in the past, he hangs around, protecting him and working with him, sometimes destroying the good in his life. Their perplexing relationship seems to center around Elena, who anchors them to Mystic Falls. ' ' Elena is the oddity of Damon’s behavior, the anomaly that makes his personality far from psychopathic. In the beginning of the first season, Stefan is prepared to give up on his brother, believing him to be an irreparable monster, but Damon displays true feeling for Elena. Elena Gilbert is physically identical to Katherine, the woman who turned him into a vampire, making her not only a constant reminder of what happened to him and Stefan, but a temptation to let history repeat itself. When Katherine reveals that she never loved him (in the beginning of season two), Damon reacts by trying to get Elena to admit that she loves him, and when she tells him that she loves Stefan, he reacts impulsively, set off by both Katherine and Elena choosing his brother instead of him. He kills Elena’s brother, spending many weeks afterwards trying to make it up to Elena, showing true regret for his actions. Their relationship began with taunting and cruelty, but she became what he clings to for humanity; he became her occasional protector, a guardian of sorts. His impulsive actions often drive her away but she refuses to let him die, and he does the same for her. With Elena influencing him throughout the second and third seasons, Damon becomes slightly kinder, if only for the fact that he no longer mindlessly kills and torments humans without good reason, and he controls himself to be strong for Elena’s sake. He proves that he is capable of love, nobility, loyalty, and selflessness, masking the most intense of his emotions to spare himself from seeming weak, but expressing just enough to draw in a very small circle of friends (which he later drives away). He continues to claim that his emotions can be turned off, but several older vampires reveal that this is a lie; after a certain amount of time, a vampire has to pretend they can’t feel. The only time Damon had ever admitted his pain was when Elena told him that she would never kiss him back, to which he responded, “Now I’m hurt.” About halfway through the third season, Damon believes that Elena is trying to turn him into Stefan by constantly telling him to be the ‘better man.’ Others continue to underestimate him and, to display that he doesn’t care at all, he kills Alaric, with whom he’d developed a strong friendship. He also spends time trying to make it up to Alaric after his ring brings him back to life, treating him like a friend even though Alaric is extremely angry with him. He also snaps and feeds from Caroline’s father, and, after a very violent fight with Caroline, he is confronted by Elena. He’s even cruel to her, accusing her of trying to make him into something he’s not. His inner turmoil continues when Katherine reappears, and he recklessly takes her offer of a ‘road trip,’ leaving Elena defenseless only because he is mad at her. When he returns, he displays genuine regret and, in one of his most tell-all, modest moments of the show, he tells her that he will never leave her again, showing his extreme love and devotion to Elena, and his regret for making another impulsive decision. ---- Elena's Impact His other shining moment is when he said this to Elena: He compels her to forget that h e said this (late in season two), because he believes it would be selfish to confuse Elena with his feelings. This is right after Stefan apologizes for making Damon turn in 1864, something that surprises Damon to the point of revelation: He realizes what he’s been doing to his brother, all following one stupid mistake. In reality, what Damon said to Elena proves that she has been molding him into a better person, because before that moment, he never would’ve done something so selfless. Damon also admits to missing his human life before he drunkenly kills Jessica Cohen in the middle of the road; this secret is kept from everyone around him. He lets the girl go, but immediately chases her down and kills her anyway in an effort to prove that he doesn’t really care. When his spirits are down, Damon solves his problems with alcohol (mostly bourbon), but he often uses violence and murder to console himself. By his own testimony, Damon claims that the reason why he can control his vampiric urges is because he embraces what he is. Damon is also very self-confident, given that he’ll confront older, stronger vampires like: Lexi, Anna, Pearl, Elijah, Klaus, Rebekah, Kol, Katherine, Rose and Silas. Without hesitation, and without regard to manners, even when they themselves pose no signs of hostility towards him. He often taunts them, which results in him nearly being killed quite often as they are undeniably stronger than him; though of course, there were cases when he was able to best them on some occasions, as in the case of Kol and Silas. Further into season 4, Damon seems to have lost part of his authoritative and dominating personality, most likely because of Klaus, who is much stronger, older and more powerful than him.}} Physical Appearance Damon is very handsome, standing 5'9" in height with a well built, toned physique. His physical appearance is that of around a 22-25 year old despite being over 170. Damon has a light complexion with olive undertones and has a strong bone structure with high cheeks bones and a solid jaw line. He possesses darkened brown, almost black hair which hangs just over his ears, usually styled in a casual disarray yet sometimes gelled for special occasions. With striking, intense blue eyes contrasting wonderfully against darkened lashes and eyebrows, a "bad boy" smile, he can be described as relatively athletic, tall, strong, sexy and seductive. He also considers himself the "eternal stud". Damon's clothing style ha s remained somewhat similar throughout the series, usually favoring darker clothing; black shirts, t-shirts and boots underneath darkened jeans and black trousers, although on occasion has been seen wearing lighter colors. Damon is rarely seen without his leather jackets and his favorite clothing designer is "John Varvatos". On special events, such as dances, he wears smart attire such as tuxedo's and dress shoes. As a vampire, he wears a large Lapis Lazuli daylight ring enchanted by Emily Bennett, as a means to walk around in the sunlight as a vampire. The ring has the Salvatore crest and an embedded "D". In flashbacks, as a human in the 1860's era, Damon generally wore the same attire as his younger brother; Stefan, including dress shirts with suspenders, waistcoats, dress coats, hats, cravats and leather laced boots as his usual style. His color scheme as a human was much lighter, Damon was seen wearing a red waistcoat, yet still formal, showing the Salvatore family's wealth. His hair was slightly longer in style, with slight curls, showing a much more youthful appearance. Relationships Stefan is Damon's younger brother, when they were human they were very close, best friends up until the arrival of the beautiful Katherine Pierce. After Katherine's "death", Damon swore to make Stefan's life a misery, and succeeded in 1912 by making him loose control of himself, fifty years after their last meeting. In the 1940's, for the first time since their transition, Damon showed a rare selflessness by backing out of his plan to join Stefan in war, so that Stefan could try to control his urges, as Damon would've been a bad influence. Despite unknowing the truth of Damon's selfless act, Stefan still returned the favor to his brother in the 1970's, sending Lexi to help Damon turn on his humanity. These glimpses of the past, it is shown that whilst they may outwardly despite the other, deep down they truly care. Before season one, the brothers hadn't seen eachother since the early 1990's, their relationship having taken a steep turn for the worse, as their relationship was described as "violent and bitter". Due to Katherine's influence they became enemies, yet have recently began repairing their strained relationship due to Elena Gilbert, ironically Katherine's descendant and doppelgänger. Through the seasons, both fell in love with Elena and whilst she was the factor bringing them together, she is also the biggest strain in the brother's complex relationship. In the season four finale, although Stefan was heartbroken at Elena's choice, he admitted that was happy for Damon. Through this, they have proven just how far their relationship has come from their violent past. Whilst their relationship will continue to be tested, through the highs and lows, it is clear that the two share a strong brotherly bond. ---- Elena Gilbert Elena Gilbert is Damon's new girlfriend and his best friend. As the series progressed, he fell in love with Elena. Damon is a 170 year old immortal who is described as seductive, handsome, hot, impulsive and charming. Elena first met Damon when he was in Mystic Falls looking for his object of obsession for over a century, Katherine Pierce. He then talked to Elena but afterwards, compelled her to forget their meeting. Elena then met Damon again at the Salvatore Boarding House when she went to look for Stefan. After a while, she started to view Damon as self-centered, violent, sociopathic and cruel, especially when she found out that he continuously abused and used her best friend, Caroline Forbes against her will. She was horrified to discover that Damon was also behind all of the murders and unusual "animal" attacks in Mystic Falls. Originally, Damon disliked Elena and was rather apathetic about whether Elena lived or died. Although, Damon was drawn to Elena, mostly due to the fact that Elena bears an uncanny resemblance to the object of his obsession for over a century, Katherine. Although Damon and Elena often bicker and don't get along, Elena began to slowly warm up to him as she got to know him, befriending him in the process. But she still kept her distance due to Damon's constant immoral and impulsive behavior. Damon and Elena's friendship deepens with time and the two become closer, with Damon haven fallen for Elena and Elena developing feelings for Damon. Damon has repeatedly admitted that he is in love with Elena, however, Elena has admitted that she loves him too. Damon once told Elena that he loved her, but that he didn't deserve her, but Stefan does. He then compelled her to forget his confession afterwards. As opposed to Stefan, Damon is seen to be extremely selfish when it comes to Elena, willing to put the life of Elena's before anyone else's, including Elena's loved ones. It has been a consistency throughout the series that even though Elena cares deeply about Damon and has feelings for him, she still strongly loves Stefan and has repeatedly chosen him over Damon much to Damon's disappointment. But Elena and Damon are still closer than ever, and the sexual tension between them has even increased as Elena's emotions were heightened. During Season 4, Stefan ends his relationship with Elena because of her no longer fighting the feelings she has for Damon. Elena admitted to Damon that he was the reason of her breakup with Stefan and with Jeremy trying to kill her, Elena had to move with Damon. Stefan moves out when she moves in because of the relationship between her and Damon. Damon and Elena also had sex for the first time and became a real couple the night she moves in with him. Despite being sired to him, her feelings for him are real and she loves him either way. She will not be giving up on him. He may be selfish with his feelings but he doesn’t regret it – when push comes to shove, he’ll always put her first and it’s for that same reason that he’s always saving her when she needs him. Damon brings out a side of Elena that none of her past loves have been able to and challenges her in a way that no one else can. He hasn't taken advantage of Elena when he's had the opportunity. He's usually played fair with her, and he's always saying that she's the one woman he has to do the right thing by. When Damon and Elena are in the same room together, the sexual tension between them crackles and pops like a sparkler. And even when they aren’t saying anything, the pair can carry on entire conversations through eye contact and body language. Damon loves her unconditionally without expecting anything in return because that's who he is. He loves her either way, human or vampire. ---- Alaric Saltzman Alaric was Damon's best friend. It started out antagonistic towards each other since Alaric knew that it had been Damon who had killed his wife but it later turned out that she wasn't dead and that she had in fact been turned into a vampire by Damon. From that point on, they have been shown as becoming closer and they often team up to fight the usual threats to the town. Alaric is the only one (other than Elena) to call Damon a friend. They are seen often drinking together; it's often seen that they do taunt each other as well though. Throughout the series, they become like brothers. Towards the end of Season 3, Alaric was turned into an Original Vampire by Esther and fed on Bonnie to complete his transition and then took the White Oak Stake from Bonnie. Alaric died in Damon's arms in season 3 finale, moments after Elena's death causing Damon to break down having lost his first real best friend since him and Stefan became vampires. But when Alaric appears as a ghost we learn that he will always be watching over Damon. ---- Jeremy Gilbert Jeremy is Damon's new roomate and his girlfrien d's, Elena, younger adoptive brother/biological cousin. Their relationship is similar to the relationship Damon has with Alaric. It's complicated between them but Damon is a father figure to Jeremy. Even though Damon goes about things the wrong way, Jeremy knows he means well and has good intentions in helping people and trying to do the right thing. There are times when Damon has treated Jeremy like a little brother and is a mentor to him. After Alaric's death, Damon trains Jeremy in how to fight and kill vampires. There are even times when they protect each other. Damon does his best to keep Jeremy alive for Elena's sake as he is the only family she has left and multiple times when Damon has told Jeremy to kill him but he refuses to do so, proving they do care about each other. ---- Other Relationships *Damon and Katherine (Ex-Girlfriend/Enemies) *Damon and Klaus (Partners in crime, Friends) *Damon and Liz (Friends) *Damon and Caroline (Ex-Girlfriend/Friends) *Damon and Rose (Former Girlfriend/Close Friends) *Damon, Elena and Stefan (Former Love Triangle) *Stefan, Damon and Katherine (Former Love Triangle) *Damon and Isobel (Ex-Girlfriend) *Damon and Bonnie (Good Friends) *Damon and Andie (Former Girlfriend) *Damon and Elijah (Frenemies) *John and Damon (Enemies) *Damon and Rebekah (Ex-fling, Friends) *Damon and Sage (Enemies) *Damon and Kol (Enemies) *Damon and Charlotte (Ex-Girlfriend) *Damon and Meredith (Good Friends) *Damon, Elena, and Alaric (Best Friends) }} Powers and Abilities Some of these powers are more potent when the vampire gets older and feeds on human blood. *'Super Strength' - Vampires are much stronger than humans and grow stronger with time. Even new vampires who are still in transition can toss a fully grown human across a room with great speed and force. Their strength is also more powerful than werewolves that are not in wolf form. *'Super Speed' - Vampires can accelerate their movements to cover short distances in an instant, faster than the human eye can see. When running across long distances, they appear as vibrating blurs of motion. *'Emotional Control' - Like all vampires, Damon has the ability to switch off his humanity. *'Dream Manipulation' - Vampires can control dreams and subconscious. The vampires can produce and modify dreams, bestow nightmares or lucid dreaming. Other effects of this ability is the distortion of reality and trapped in the dreams. *'Heightened Senses' - They can hear whispered conversations, even ones in far off buildings, smell blood, and see in total darkness. *'Mind Compulsion' - Vampires have the ability to control minds, plague people's dreams, and alter/erase human memories. *'Immortality' - A vampire stops aging once turned. Upon their transformation, vampires then on become immune to all conventional illness, disease, virus and infection. The only known disease or infection that can kill a vampire is a werewolf bite. *'Healing Factor' - Vampires can snap their finger bones back into place after being broken and have been seen to fully recover from gunshots, stab wounds, and torso impalement. *'Lapis Lazuli' - He possesses a Lapis Lazuli ring that enables him to walk in daylight without being harmed. *'Sire Bond' - Sire Bonds can be formed when a human is turned with the blood of the vampire whom they had strong human feelings for. Damon has sired two vampires; Charlotte and Elena Gilbert. *'Weather Manipulation'- In the early episodes of Season 1, Damon was able to create fogs and change the weather. This power was later discarded because it was considered "too supernatural" *'Compelling Animals-' Also in the early episodes of Season 1, Damon was able compel a crow to spy on Elena and Stefan. He later killed the crow by feeding on it, and hasn't used this power since. Although the crow was seen as a sign Damon had arrived in a flashback in the episode "1912". Weaknesses *'Decapitation:' The act of dismembering or removing the head of a vampire will result in permanent death. *'Fire or ' Sunlight: The act of exposing a vampire to fire or sunlight will result in permanent death. *'Vervain:' The act of exposing or ingesting a vampire with vervain causes a vampire to become severely feverish and weak. Also, If a vampire's skin is exposed to vervain, it can result in burning them. Also vampires can't compel anyone on vervain. *'Wood:' The act of wounding a vampire with wood will cause the vampire to become severely weak and if a vampire takes a wooden stake through its heart it will result in permanent death. *'Heart Extraction:' The act of extracting or removing the heart of a vampire will result in permanent death. *'Invitation:' Vampires cannot enter a home without an invitation by the owner. *'Magic:' Vampires are susceptible to the powers of witchcraft including the creation of harmful magical objects. *'Desiccation:' Vampires who abstain from blood for extended amounts of time will eventually desiccate into mummification. *'Vampire Bloodline:' If an Original vampire dies, all vampires descended from their bloodline will slowly perish. *'Werewolf Bite:' The bite of a werewolf is extremely lethal to vampires. It will cause them to hallucinate, grow severely weak and go rabid until it kills them. Klaus' hybrid blood can cure the bite. *'Broken Neck':' '''Breaking a vampires neck is a common way to subdue one, it will not kill them but it will keep them unconscious for several hours and when they are still unconscious they won't have a pulse and appear to be dead. Appearances Season 1 *Pilot'' *''The Night of the Comet'' *''Friday Night Bites'' *''Family Ties'' *''You're Undead to Me'' *''Lost Girls'' *''Haunted'' *''162 Candles'' *''History Repeating'' *''The Turning Point'' *''Bloodlines'' *''Unpleasantville'' *''Children of the Damned'' *''Fool Me Once'' *''A Few Good Men'' *''There Goes the Neighborhood'' *''Let the Right One In'' *''Under Control'' *''Miss Mystic Falls'' *''Blood Brothers'' *''Isobel'' *''Founder's Day'' Season 2 *''The Return'' *''Brave New World'' *''Bad Moon Rising'' *''Memory Lane'' *''Kill or Be Killed'' *''Plan B'' *''Masquerade'' *''Rose'' *''Katerina'' *''The Sacrifice'' *''By the Light of the Moon'' *''The Descent'' *''Daddy Issues'' *''Crying Wolf'' *''The Dinner Party'' *''The House Guest'' *''Know Thy Enemy'' *''The Last Dance'' *''Klaus'' *''The Last Day'' *''The Sun Also Rises'' *''As I Lay Dying'' Season 3 *''The Birthday'' *''The Hybrid'' *''The End of The Affair'' *''Disturbing Behavior'' *''The Reckoning'' *''Smells Like Teen Spirit'' *''Ghost World'' *''Ordinary People'' *''Homecoming'' *''The New Deal'' *''Our Town'' *''The Ties That Bind'' *''Bringing Out The Dead'' *''Dangerous Liaisons'' *''All My Children'' *''1912'' *''Break On Through'' *''The Murder of One'' *''Heart of Darkness'' *''Do Not Go Gentle'' *''Before Sunset'' *''The Departed'' Season 4 *''Growing Pains'' *''Memorial'' *''The Rager'' *''The Five'' *''The Killer'' *''We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes'' *''My Brother’s Keeper'' *''We'll Always Have Bourbon Street'' *''O Come, All Ye Faithful'' *''After School Special'' *''Catch Me If You Can'' *''A View To A Kill'' *''Into the Wild'' *''Down the Rabbit Hole'' *''Stand By Me'' *''Bring It On'' *''Because the Night'' *''American Gothic'' *''Pictures of You'' *''The Originals'' *''She's Come Undone'' *''The Walking Dead'' *''Graduation'' Season 5 *''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' *''True Lies'' *''Original Sin'' *''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' *''Monster's Ball'' }} Stefan's Diaries Damon comes home from the Confederate Army where he served with "General Groom's boys". He drinks and gambles as a human. Damon is often criticized by his father, or by his father to Stefan. Even though he is the second one to see Katherine, he is the first of the brothers to be with her. He wants to die rather than become a vampire but Stefan brings back the barmaid, Alice, for him to feed on. When they first turn, Damon is weaker than Stefan because he refuses to feed often. Damon often points out to Stefan that the blood is a weakness to him because it consumes him and makes him a killer, because he can't control his urges. Damon is better at compulsion than Stefan and it is assumed that Katherine taught him how to compel people. He kills Callie Gallagher, the daughter of a vampire hunter who captured Damon and used him as a circus act, when trying to kill Stefan. Novels As with the series, he initially serves as the main antagonist until the third book, where he becomes an anti-hero. In the books, he is born in Florence, Italy and is described as arrogant, charming and seductive, but he is known to keep his word. Ian Somerhalder's television portrayal is faithful to the handsome, hedonist of L. J. Smith's creation. Damon loves the undead life and all that it entails, and no one's ever quite sure if they should love him or hate him. He leaves countless broken hearts in his wake, but the heart Damon desires the most is Elena's. Name His name is derived from the Greek ''δαμαω. (damao) ''meaning "to tame" or "subdue". According to Greek legend, Damon and Pythias were friends who lived on Syracuse in 4th century BC. When Pythias was sentenced to death, he was allowed to temporarily go free on the condition that Damon take his place in prison. Pythias returned just before Damon was executed in his place, and the king was so impressed with their loyalty to one another that he pardoned Pythias. As an English given name, it has only been used regularly since the 20th century, and there is only one single record of the use of the name in the 1880 census. The name fits the character well, Damon, in a way, has been "tamed", and his bond of loyalty to Stefan is as strong as the legendary Greek Damon (they would promptly die for each other). The name also sounds a little bit like Demon, and this was used for effect in the first season, when Damon was the antagonist. Trivia Tropes Damon Salvatore/Tropes Gallery See also de:Damon Salvatore fr:Damon Salvatore Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Season 5 Characters Category:Protagonists Category:Antagonists Category:Mystic Falls Residents Category:Salvatore Family Category:Supernatural Category:Vampires Category:Undead Category:Featured Articles